Cindy Crawford's Strawberry Pie Is the Simple Sweet I Want to Eat All Summer
Supermodel Cindy Crawford has been a famous name in fashion since the '80s, gracing the covers of every single top fashion magazine and marching down the runways of brands like Chanel, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana and Calvin Klein. Her campaigns with Pepsi and Revlon made her a household name by the late '90s, and if that's not enough, she also has a furniture line with Rooms to Go and Raymour & Flanigan. Talk about range.
Though her legendary status is enough to keep her name on the tip of everyone's tongue today, it's her recipe for Strawberry Pie that has had everyone talking as of late. Touted as an easy version of this summer sweet, I knew I had to give this pie a try. So, I gathered up the ingredients and got to work.
Get the recipe: Cindy Crawford's Strawberry Pie
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
Ingredients for Cindy Crawford's Strawberry Pie
To make this pie, you'll need flour, salt, vegetable oil and milk for the crust (or you can use a pre-made crust if you're running short on time...or baking skills). For the filling, you'll need sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, strawberries, butter and milk.
Related: Summery Fresh Strawberry Scones Recipe
How to Make Cindy Crawford's Strawberry Pie
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Mix the flour and salt together. Measure your oil and milk, but don't stir them together just yet. Instead, add them to the flour and then combine. Divide your dough into two portions, one slightly bigger than the other. Roll out the crust on parchment paper and place the slightly bigger round in a greased pie pan.
To make the filling, combine the sugar, flour, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add the halved strawberries and stir to coat.
Spoon the strawberry mixture into the crust, scatter with a few pieces of butter, then top with the remaining dough round. Pinch the edges to seal the pastry (or crimp with a fork), and cut a slit for ventilation in the top. Brush the crust with milk and sprinkle some extra sugar on top (I used turbinado). Bake on a cookie sheet until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown, which should take about 50 minutes. Let the pie cool for one hour before slicing and serving.
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
What I Thought of Cindy Crawford's Strawberry Pie
After doing some research on this pie, I found that this recipe originally appeared in Saveur magazine and is the pie that Cindy Crawford makes for her husband in their Malibu home. Hearing this immediately conjured images of barefoot baking in a sunlit-drenched, meticulously curated kitchen with the sweet sounds of waves crashing outside. My reality, however, was baking away in my galley kitchen with the city sounds streaming in from my screen door, but points for trying.
That all being said, this is a simple, no-frills dessert that's a cinch to put together. I was a bit skeptical since I've only ever used butter to make a pie crust and not vegetable oil, but it came together quite well and with a little bit of coaxing, I was able to get a decent top and bottom crust.
This was truly everything you want a pie to be: the filling was sweet with a hint of spice, the top crust was flaky and crunchy from a sprinkle of sugar and the bottom crust was sturdy and held up to the filling. My only complaint about this pie is that the filling is quite runny and remained so even after an overnight stint in the fridge. Next time, I may add cornstarch or tapioca to thicken the filling a bit more.
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
Tips for Making Cindy Crawford's Strawberry Pie
Use a pie crust shield. If you find that the edges of your pie are browning faster than your middle is cooking, use tinfoil on the edges or invest in a pie crust shield.
Enlist a helper for your strawberries. Hulling strawberries can be such a pain. If you don't have a sous chef (or a nifty gadget for taking the tops off those strawberries), grab a straw and push it through the base of the strawberry to remove the tops with minimal waste.
Don't forget the toppings. Cindy doesn't mention this in her recipe, but a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream never hurt anybody and makes for the prettiest presentation.
Go halfsies. If you feel like it and love a classic strawberry-rhubarb combo, sub out half of the strawberries for sliced rhubarb.
Next: 25 Satisfying Spring Desserts Starring Strawberries, Lemons & Pineapple
